Summer 2005
Message from the dean
My
initial year as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Education has been
marked by a number of important events. Few hold as much promise as the restructuring
and expansion of the CLAE Alumni Council. Following a survey of alumni from
our College, which produced a talented pool of alumni respondents who expressed
their desire to assist and support the College in a number of ways, the council
revised its by-laws and elected officers with Tom Van Esley ’75 as president,
Elaine Jirkans ’94, as vice president, and Rene Saenz ’75, as
secretary. In addition, the council was restructured with the creation of
several new committees.
One of these committees was the Program Committee, which is establishing a calendar of College events that the council will help sponsor and support throughout the academic year. The initial event they chose to be involved with this semester was to encourage alumni to purchase tickets and attend the final performance of Godspell, a joint UDM-Marygrove musical. The council, in addition, sponsored an Afterglow immediately following the production for all alumni in attendance. Having the Alumni Council support various events and activities will allow the College to enhance and expand these events and activities throughout the College.
If you were one of the alumni who responded to the alumni survey but have not yet been contacted, please be patient. Council members have carefully reviewed the pool of alumni willing to serve on the council and have carefully attempted to match the needs of the council with the talents and abilities of alumni. As the council begins to plan events for the coming academic year, other alumni will be contacted to assist. I foresee our Alumni Council continuing to expand its role as a pillar of support for the College. I would invite any CLAE alumnus interested in being involved to e-mail UDMGRAD@udmercy.edu to be added to the list of alumni volunteers. You can read more about the efforts of the Alumni Council in a letter from President Tom Van Esley.
Although the list of recent newsworthy events in the College is lengthy, several bear mentioning.
- The Psychology Department’s Clinical Psychology program recently completed a highly successful accreditation visit. The American Psychological Association site visit team cited increased scholarly productivity, a growing pool of applicants, and better qualified applicants as important areas of improvement.
- The Ethics Bowl, sponsored by the Philosophy Department, once again proved to be a memorable event on the University calendar. Raoul’s Raiders, in a highly competitive final round victory, captured its third straight Ethics Bowl Championship and represented the University at the National Ethics Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. [Read more]
- A highly successful Law Day, co-sponsored by the Pre-Law Program, the Department of Philosophy, and the Department of Political Science was recently held on the McNichols Campus. A highlight of the day was a re-enactment of the Brown v. Board of Education case. A number of guest lecturers spoke on campus this past semester.
- Of special note was the appearance of one of our own— renowned novelist Elmore Leonard ’50, a graduate of our English Department— who spoke on the craft of writing including his 10 rules of writing, and the process of working with Hollywood in transforming his novels to the screen as seen in “Get Shorty,” “Out of Sight” and “Be Cool.” His visit was sponsored by the University Honors Program directed by Associate Professor of Philosophy David Koukal. [Read more]
- Two members of the College community, Megan Messmer, a Theatre major, and Professor of Psychology Mary Hannah, played important roles in the University’s Commencement ceremony on May 14. Megan was the Valedictorian of the class of 2005 and Dr. Hannah served as Grand Marshal for the ceremony. We congratulate both of them.
Alumni of the College of Liberal Arts and Education have a world of reasons to be proud of their College. Your support of the College, both financial and otherwise, is deeply appreciated and absolutely crucial to continuing to strengthen our College. We thank you.
Charles Marske
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Education
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